Lemon Law Attorney

James Sherman sat on the couch in his Montclair home and attempted to explain environmental sustainability.

Sherman, an environmental attorney and chairman of the Montclair Environmental Commission, got as far as a broad definition of making the environment more comfortable with less stress over a long period of time when he turned the global concept into a local movement.

A local movement spearheaded by the Environmental Commission.

“All we can do is advise the mayor and all the other council members,” said Sherman, who along with fellow Environmental Commission member Merwin Kinkade and the township’s Environmental Outreach Coordinator Gray Russell co-authored the “Sustainable Montclair Planning Guide.”

“As an environmental attorney, I’ve got to ask myself: ‘What’s beyond? What changes are on for our planet, in our lifetime, on our horizon?’” Sherman said. “We’re out to make Montclair more livable and more sustainable. What we’ve come up with, after two years of study, is a comprehensive look at every sort of municipal-level facility… a menu of ideas that we’re going to try to roll out one by one.”

First on the list of sustainability objectives is an energy audit. Commission members estimate that the township currently spends $1.3 million annually to operate its energy systems. With the help of an energy audit, the commission’s goal is to reduce the township’s energy costs by 20 percent.

“Our goal is to do this with the cost savings we have, and provide the same level of comfort along with using less energy,” said commission member Sam Pinkard.

“But,” Pinkard added, “we gotta sell it.”

Before any of the Environmental Commission’s recommendations for sustainability can be put into action, the Montclair Township Council has to buy it. On April 8, the council bought the entire “Sustainable Montclair” package when it adopted the program through a resolution.

The council resolution gave the Environmental Commission the go-ahead to proceed with the “Sustainable Montclair Planning Guide” and act as an environmental advisory board to the council.

First order of business for the commission is an audit of energy systems in all township-owned buildings, starting with the Montclair Municipal Building at 205 Claremont Ave.

“The audit is the low-hanging fruit,” said Russell. “It can be simply done. It can be quickly done. We believe that there are a host of ways the township can save money by increasing their energy efficiency.”

For instance, recommending how lighting can be improved and made more energy-efficient.

Meredith Nole, owner of Purelight in Montclair, said that while most township-owned buildings currently utilize 152-watt lighting systems, “[The township] could go from 152 watts to 70 watts — with better lighting.

“Efficient lighting has built-in better lighting quality,” Nole said, adding that a lighting system utilizing less wattage is more cost-effective.

Heating- and cooling-system adjustments to comfortable, performance-enhancing temperatures could also be made.

“With a cleaner air system… and making sure temperatures are right,” said Russell of the public schools, “kids work more comfortably and teachers work better.”

Russell said that an adjusted, energy-efficient climate could be coupled with reduced lighting that takes advantage of daylight conditions. “Document after document proved that students’ test scores go up… absenteeism goes down, and workers’ performance increases,” Russell said.

“Over the long term,” Russell added, “costs are dramatically reduced.”

Then there’s the Environmental Commission’s sustainability recommendations to increase purchases of alternative-fueled vehicles and support the conversion of private and school bus fleets to compressed natural gas.

The Township of Montclair last year purchased four natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX vehicles. Along with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification as a “super ultra-low emission vehicle,” the Honda Civic GX can go for 250 highway miles on a tank of natural gas that costs 89 cents a gallon.

Mayor Robert Russo, who is director of the Lemon Law Division of the state Consumer Affairs Office, said he hopes that in the future natural gas vehicles such as the Honda Civic GX and natural gas- and electric-powered hybrid alternatives will replace larger and less fuel-efficient municipal SUVs.

“[Montclair] should not buy any more SUVs that are the large, gas-powered ones,” Russo said, noting that Ford Motor Co. is in the process of converting its SUV-model Escape into a hybrid vehicle.

“I want to move to everything possible that reduces cost, pollution and gas,” Russo said. “I think the whole sustainability program moves in that direction.”

The sustainability program is moving in other directions as well. Residents will be urged to purchase recycled products. Pesticides management in the schools and on playing fields will be integrated. A north-south bicycle lane through the township will be designated, along with installation of covered bicycle storage sheds at train stations. A township inventory of brownfields — contaminated sites earmarked for cleanup and redevelopment with federal funding — will be created.

A “Play As You Throw” (PAYT) municipal solid waste billing system is also in the planning stages. Under a PAYT system, collection and disposal of solid waste could either be part of a bundle of municipal services, or municipal solid waste costs could be separately billed similar to gas, water and electric billing.

Residents, households and businesses under PAYT are sent a notice suggesting ways to reduce unnecessary consumption. Comparisons have been made to lower electric and water bills because lights have been turned off or a leaky faucet was fixed.